The Caesar Salad That Came to Christmas

Make the croutons: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the oil, butter, anchovies and salt in a small saucepan. Grate the garlic into the saucepan with a microplane and warm over medium heat until the butter melts and the anchovies almost dissolve, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Cut the bread in half and gently pull the insides of the bread out of the crust in ¾- to 1-inch chunks, taking care not to smash the chunks between your fingers. Put the chunks in a bowl and reserve the crusts and crumbs for another use. (I toast it and slather it with butter and jam!) Drizzle the oil mixture over the bread chunks and gently toss to coat them without breaking them apart.

Spread the bread chunks out on a baking sheet and bake on the center rack of the oven until browned, about 20 to 30 minutes, turning the chunks occasionally with tongs so they brown evenly. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. (Once cooled, you can store the croutons in an airtight container or sealable bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

Make the dressing: Combine the lime juice, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce in a measuring cup with a spout or in a small bowl. Combine the olive oil and neutral-flavored oil in a separate measuring cup with a spout or in a small bowl.

Put the egg yolk, anchovies and mustard in the jar of a blender. Use a microplane to grate the garlic into the blender. Pulse to combine the ingredients. With the blender running on medium to high speed, add about ¼ cup of the oil drop by drop until an emulsion has formed; the mixture will be thick and opaque, like mayonnaise. Once you have an emulsion, you can slowly drizzle another approximately ¼ cup of the oil into the blender, then slowly drizzle in about half the lime juice mixture. (This is to thin the emulsion slightly; if it gets too thick, it can be at risk of breaking.) Drizzle in the remaining oil and then the remaining lime juice mixture. Add the salt and pepper. Transfer the dressing to a small bowl and stir in the grated Parmesan. This can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Make the salad: If using whole romaine, cut off and discard the stem end of the lettuce. Remove the outer leaves and reserve them for another use or discard them. Separate the remaining leaves down to the core.

Put the lettuce in a bowl. Squeeze the juice of the lime over the leaves and toss to coat them. Drizzle ½ cup of the dressing over the lettuce and use your hands to coat the lettuce with the dressing and gently massage it onto each leaf. Add half of the croutons and toss to distribute them. Transfer the lettuce to a large serving bowl or platter and top with a generous grinding of fresh black pepper and a generous layer of grated Parmesan.